Pixar “will take some chances” with upcoming movies and Disney+ shows

Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter reveals his plans for the studio now that Disney is entering a new, streaming-focused era.

Acquiring Pixar is one of the best things Disney ever did. From the release of Toy Story to 1995 all the way to Soul just last month, the studio has proven that it’s something special, and here to stay.

Side note: If you haven’t watch Soul yet, drop everything and check it out. It’s a profound story about life, perspective, and our ability to achieve our dreams. Paired with the groundbreakingly good animation, it’s a treat.

Basically, Pixar is amazing and I couldn’t be happier with the direction it’s taken since Pete Docter took over as Chief Creative Officer. The Hollywood Reporter recently profiled Docter, who shared his ideas on the future of the studio.

Docter directed Soul as well as classics like Inside Out, and to hear him tell it, there’s plenty more where that came from. Disney pulled the curtain back a handful of new Pixar projects last month at its Investors Day Conference, but they were all greenlit before Docter took over as CCO from John Lasseter, whose sabbatical became permanent following accusations of impropriety.

Those projects include Luca, a coming-of-age adventure set in Italy from director Enrico Casarosa; Turning Red, Domee Shi’s movie about a teenager cursed to turn into giant red panda whenever she gets too excited; and Lightyear, which is the in-world movie where the toy Buzz Lightyear comes from. Chris Evans will be voicing him.

But now the Docter era has begun. There’s a focus on diversity, with Docter starting advisory committees that draw on people from all backgrounds and ages, as well as keeping them at a 50/50 ratio of male to female.

Under his watch, Docter hopes to strike a balance between bringing us brand new visions and keeping the company financially solvent through sequels. “In the past, we had a big run of sequels, too many in a row,” he said. “Now we have a lot of original stuff, which I’m personally excited about, but for financial safety, we probably should have a few more sequels in there. Sometimes it’s tough because the creative projects have a life of their own, and they either take off or they don’t.”

These projects will include ones exclusively for Disney+, which is new for the studio, but by now they’re used to meeting new challenges. “At the beginning, when we were doing Toy Story, we didn’t know what we were doing,” Docter said. “So people would be just off the street. ‘You’re going to be the art department manager.’ Now we would never do that. First you’d have to go through three or four other positions and train. The streaming service has shaken that back up to the earlier days of, ‘OK, we just have to take some chances and go.'”

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h/t SYFY Wire